Dream Home Coming to Life: A Year in Review

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
– Bob Hope

Well what can I say, it’s been one hell of a year.

It has, simultaneously gone by so quickly but ever so slowly and of course, like all things, much has changed.

This time last year we were celebrating the purchase of a block of land, signing a contract on a new home and preparing for our first Christmas as a family with one rambunctious 9 month old. It was a fantastic Christmas surrounded by lots of family and some wonderful friends.

This year though, the lead up to Christmas was quite a bit different. Actually the last six months in general have been difficult and new.

Family members got sick and had operations, others tried to remove parts of their own body in farming accidents (yes Dad, we won’t let you forget that one!), relationships ended, new ones flourished, old friendships changed and new ones began. And my stress levels hit an all time high.

That wasn’t all of it either.

We moved house for one, into the new home we hope to create, and lots of things went wrong. They were mostly small things in hindsight, but they were all pieces in the ever expanding pile that weighed on our shoulders. That’s why I was looking forward so much to Christmas, a fun and carefree time, a chance to celebrate with childlike joy.

I planned on it being like those of Christmas past, relaxed, happy, full of good food, people and carols. But that hasn’t gone to plan either! (having said that Christmas has actually happened yet either, so there’s still hope!!)

It’s taken a couple of weeks now and lots of slow and small efforts, but finally I feel like I’m getting to a better place. A place where the stress doesn’t have my shoulders bunched up in stress from the minute I wake up, to the second I fall asleep. A place where Christmas carols play, twinkly lights twinkle and the smell of freshly baked cookies waft. It’s not a bad place to be actually.

It’s no wonder then, with all this stress and chaos floating about, that both Mr D and I ended up sick, (luckily for us it was at different times). In fact I’m writing this to you now from my huddled position on the lounge with a cloud of cold and flu tablets as company. I’m on the mend now, though perhaps you should keep that in mind if you find spelling mistakes and weird sentence structure in today’s post hehe.

From this position however, I can see that all the downs of the last few months were just things that had to happen. That we had to get out of the way for a new year and a new start.

And that’s exactly what it feels like now.

A new year, a new home, a new chance to achieve some big dreams.

On the actual home front, we are starting to get settled in. As settled in as one can be when one still feels like they’re camping. Seriously, there is yellow sand everywhere!! But we are slowly starting to tick things off the list. We still have a while to go and some hard work to get there, but we will get there. (It helps that we actually have WiFi now!)

So with the tree up, twinkling at me, and a simple family Christmas planned with very little fuss, I’m starting to relish the little things. Like having a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and a wonderful (somewhat healthy) family to share in it all.

Here’s to the New Year.

A brilliantly bright moon had me out the back the other night capturing a quick snap. I’ll definitely be spending more time out here with my camera in the future. 

The kitchen is probably the only room in the whole house that is actually nearly finished…. I mean, this is me we are talking about here right?!

It may of taken me a few days to get the Christmas tree up, but once I did everything started to feel like it was coming together. 

Sadly most of our furniture was all bought for our Perth house (which was much smaller!), so we’ll be upgrading some key pieces, including the dining table over the coming months. 

The sunsets never disappoint here. (Just ignore the looming light poles out the front, they’re not staying!… are they Dad?!)

There’s still lots more to come my friends. Exteriors to be painted, bedrooms to be decorated, new lounge furniture to be chosen and delivered and of course decking to be done.

Stay tuned over the coming months and keep an eye out for an update every few weeks.

Cheerio and Merry Christmas xxx

Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Eighteen

“Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself so it can introduce itself to you. “– Frances Mayer, Under the Tuscan Sun

If you’ve ever met me you’ll know that one of my all-time favourite movies is Under the Tuscan Sun. Interestingly I saw the movie first, then read the book…. And didn’t actually like the book that much, well in comparison to the movie that is. They’re really rather different stories, both of which I enjoyed on their own, but there is just something about the movie that has me hooked.

It could be because the female lead is a writer who moves to Italy on a whim and randomly buys a rundown villa and decides to renovate it in an effort to overcome her divorce. Funnily enough I’ve loved this movie since I was a teenager, and I still do. It’s not a very teenagery topic, but there you have it.

Now if you know my family at all, you’ll know that movie quotes and one-liners play a fairly big part in our lives…. You could blame the fact that my parents owned a video store during my teenage years… but honestly, I think it’s just who we are.

So as you can imagine, I’m a big one for remembering quotes, even more so if they hit a chord with me. One such quote is the one above from said wonderful movie. Even at 15 years old it meant something to me, but now, gosh it means even more now.

If you haven’t guessed we officially moved into the Dream Home over the weekend and boy, was it chaotic leading up to it. I’ve mentioned in previous posts about how crazy life has gotten these last few months but these last couple of weeks ratcheted my stress levels above even what I anticipated….. and we all know how well I handle stress huh!

What I didn’t anticipate was the continuation of said chaos once we were in. The move itself was actually pretty calm. We started early Friday morning, worked all day, then did it all again Saturday. By that night, we were sleeping in the new house! Nothing was broken, no boxes have gone missing (well not that I’ve noticed yet), all my appliances continued to work (we’ll just skim over the last move where our fridge died) and it all worked out OK.

It was once we were actually living in the house that the chaos reigned supreme.

I won’t focus too much on the few things that have gone wrong inside the house, it’ll probably just upset you, like it did me. Simply put, there are marks on the new skirting boards, there are scuff marks on my freshly painted walls, there is paint all over my brand new bath tub and a myriad of other defects that are on our list to chase up and have fixed.

The immediate problem though, was where to find my god damn nespresso machine! Seriously, how is one supposed to conquer a world of towering boxes and random pieces of furniture stacked in my living room without caffeine?!

But I digress.

It was on Sunday (or was it Monday?), whilst sitting on my kitchen floor, back against a cupboard, ignoring my screaming 19 month old’s meltdown over something incredibly insignificant, that I remembered this line.

Funny how words can play such an important part in our lives huh?

I think it’s because this house, or home rather, has been so long in the making that I just want to get to the fun part. The part where I start to make it ours…. In a simple and uncomplicated way. I guess I forgot about the unpacking bit.

So it’s with Frances Mayer’s words in my mind, that I started, and I focused my entire attention on the kitchen. Almost a week later and it’s still not quite finished, but it’s pretty darn close. I won’t show you what it looks like yet, as it’s a little bit chaotic still. But the cupboards are full, a few pretty things are already adorning my walls and bench tops and I’m actually beginning to feel a mite more in control.

One room has now introduced itself to me.

And can I just say…. I love it.

So here are a few picks to show you how far our little home has come over the last week. Stay tuned for another big update in a few weeks!

The sunset from our back porch. We get a stunning view every night and every sunset is different. 

The walls are freshly painted and our lovely floor planks have now been laid!

My kitchen has quickly become my favourite place in the entire house!

Proir to the skirting boards being attached and painted, it looks even better now!

There will be one more house update in two weeks my friends and then that will be it for this year! I can’t believe how far we’ve come or how quickly it’s happened but the new year is upon us, and my gosh have I got some exciting things in store for us!

Stay tuned is all I can say!!

If you’ve missed the rest of our build journey you can start right back at the beginning here, or why not jump across and join me on Facebook or Instagram to see just how chaotic it has been!

Now I’m off to pick up the boy child. Cheerio and Merry Christmas! (hah! I can start saying it now… it’s officially December!!) xxx

Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Seventeen

There is now only 14 days to go until we move into the new house. It’s kind of amazing and real, exciting and scary all at the same time.

The big thing I’ve been noticing though is how damn emotional I’m getting over every little thing!

Last week we had our official walk through, pre-key handover inspection. It went fab of course, with only a few minor things to fix. But as I’m standing there looking around at it all, I realized that this will soon be where I wake every morning, where I come home to in the evening and most importantly where I watch my life with Mr D and Mister L unfold.

It hit me again later on the weekend, standing in the living room with Mum, discussing lounge locations and such. It was fun, but there was a moment where I looked over at L peeking out the window and I could just see the Christmas tree there, with him checking out the pressies and glittering lights.

Then there was yesterday, reversing down the driveway at our current place in Northam, when I realized that in just two short weeks I’ll be making that drive one final time. Probably with a cat, dog, baby and s**t load of boxes in tow.

This isn’t the first time we’ve built a house, but this time is different I suppose. This time it’s not just buying a house in the burbs of Perth with the idea that this will do for the next few years.

This house is the culmination of the last 7 years.

• It’s every time we drove from Perth to Toodyay on a Friday night so we could make the most out of coming home for the weekend.
• It’s realizing that Perth is not all it’s cracked up to be and that with the exception of our careers it didn’t offer us much (well if you ignore the short drive to the beach, which is always a plus in my mind!!)
• It’s admitting that we, two country kids, actually hate city living and peak hour traffic and constant road works and noisy neighbours and planes and trains and police sirens at midnight.
• It’s admitting that we actually want the very thing we claimed to hate as teenagers. Wide open spaces, peace and tranquility.
• It’s recognizing that the way we grew up (on farms) is so much more appealing than the way city kids are brought up (not saying there’s anything inherently wrong with it, but it can definitely be lacking).
• It’s recognizing that walking down a small town’s main street and recognizing everyone you see, having a chat with your Year 4 teacher (who could very well end up teaching your own son one day, yup I’m looking at you Mr C!) or running into an old school mate is actually pretty awesome. I mean as they say, it takes a village right?

It was all of these things and so much more, that made us want to move home back to the country, where we quite obviously belong. So yeah, it really does feel different this time around.

It feels final.

It feels like coming home.

The cleaners doing a fab job.

Gosh I love my tap ware. Anyone with me?

This kid!

No photos do my awesome (giant) bath tub justice!!

Trying to decide which shade of grey will go on the exterior.

With extra high ceilings daddy can now throw Mister L up without hitting him in the head!

We’re down to the business end of things this week, with the Bank Valuer coming out so the final payment can be made and then we get the keys! Then the fun can really start with the painters and floors both due to go in week after next, followed by the arduous task of packing and moving house.

Gah, I hate packing!! But at least we’re not moving far this time around 😉

Ciao for now folks, xxx

A Dream Home Coming To Life: Part Sixteen

Well we are back my friends. We flew in from Tasmania, via Melbourne late Wednesday night and after 10 days of fabulous family fun, a gorgeous wedding and heaps of exploring, we are absolutely exhausted! I am incredibly glad to be home though, especially given the awesome things that have happened while we were away.

Now I love a good holiday as much as the next girl, don’t get me wrong.

Especially if said holiday involves lazing by the pool/beach, with an endless stream of cocktails and daily massages (all sans child of course!). Oh wait, wait, that was a dream I had!!

In truth, those kinds of holidays can be fabulous, but family holidays can be just as awesome too. Family vacations tend to be rather stressful though (as I’m sure most of you are aware), but what it really comes down to is a chance to reconnect, have some innocent fun and to open up your children’s eyes to a whole new world of experiences.

For us it was taken to a whole nother level, with the main purpose of our trip to be there for a family wedding. Naturally this meant grandmothers and aunts flying in from all over W.A. and we all know what happens next….. chaos!! No, honestly it wasn’t that bad. We had our fair share of moments like any family does (let’s not even talk about the flight over to Melbourne. Note To Self: NEVER FLY THE RED EYE WITH AN 18 MONTH OLD EVER, EVER AGAIN!)

But like any family vacation it balanced itself out, there were some truly awesome moments. Like seeing how excited my munchkin got every time he was able to hang out all day with his Grammy and Grumpy (my hubby’s parents) or the absolute spaz attack he had at the chocolate factory after devouring a whole choc frog in one mouthful, or just Mr D and I, driving around, enjoying the beautiful, peaceful country side while he slept in the back seat!

No matter how much fun you have though there is always a point where you just want to be home. (I find it around the time when I start packing up, or waiting around airports with a million other people). It’s that moment when you just wish you could be home, comfy in your own bed.

Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Fifteen

“The value of things is not the time they last,

but the intensity with which they occur.

That is why there are unforgettable moments and unique people.” – Fernando Pessoa

As they say, all good things must come to an end. That end is very nearly upon us now and it’s a crazy, butterfly type feeling that I get in my stomach when I think about what’s around the corner.

It was just the other night when I realized just how unknown the next few months were going to be for us. I was laying in my bed with my husband; we had the blinds and window open as it was the first warm night of the season and the air had that particular smell about it. You know the one I mean, the crisp air that blows through from the South, the breeze that means summer is just around the corner.

It was a bright night outside and every time I looked out that window I could imagine what it was going to be like to lay in that same position but instead of looking out onto fence, it would be a completely different view.

A view of rolling hills, yellowing crops and sheep bleating in the distance. Of dark, inky skies filled to the brim with stars (seriously, you city folks are missing out on all the wonders of the night sky!), of the shadows of ghostly gum trees swaying in the night breeze and of the very faintest of glows on the far horizon (Perth).

It was laying there in bed, imagining this scene out my window that I realized it won’t be very long now until we are in the new house, back on a farm, living the life we were meant to. It was a bizarre feeling. All butterflies and excitement. But also this heart swelling feeling… to know that you’re waking up in a new house and know that it’s your forever home.

On one hand I’m saddened by the end of the build, but I also find myself feeling anxious and overwhelmed at the thought of packing and moving again. (Does anyone actually like that part?!) I think I’ve been so focused on getting through these last few months, on organizing and booking in painters and the flooring guys and the air conditioning people that I lost sight of the excitement of moving into a new house. Of finally getting to lead the life I’ve wanted for a very long time.

I already find myself looking back on our build like I do my son, wondering where the hell the time went and amazed at all the things that have been accomplished. (Yeah, yeah, I know I totally just compared my child to my house.) But it really is a big, momentous occasion, and come the day we finally get to move in I don’t know what I’ll be like.

I’m imagining a smooth sailing, totally organised pro. But in reality it’s more likely to be shambles, chaos and me alternating between crying and anger at all the things that aren’t going right. That’s life for you though.

What’s also life, is delays. We’ve had a few more delays with the tilers so that means we aren’t likely to get key hand over until we’re back from our holiday now. It’s not the end of the world I suppose, it just means we had to completely re-think our game plan.

Perhaps you can all cross your fingers for me, for a smooth sprint to the finish line while we’re away. Without any further ado here it is, one the last Dream Home Journey updates.

It’s still a very weird feeling knowing this will be the view I look out upon every day, coffee in hand.

Tiles people! We have tiles! They may not be grouted yet, but they’re not far off!

My big ass, soakin, bath tub! I cannot wait to have a relaxing soak in this baby. (Wait! Who am I kidding? The child will likely want to get in with me!)

Splash back all up, the last bit of grout needing to be completed. Ahh the joys of the bartering system 😉

Waterproofing in the ensuite complete and the floor tiling started. It won’t be long now till this room’s finished too!

So once all the tiling and grouting as been finalized they can come in and measure up for the glass shower screens and mirrors. They’ll then get popped in, along with the bathroom and kitchen hardware and BADA-BING, BADA-BOOM! Key hand over time!

Till then folks! Have a gorgeous day and enjoy this beautiful sun shiny weather…. as I’m (for some crazy reason) running away from it to the freezing winds of Tasmania!

Ciao xxx

Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Fourteen

“Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment

until it becomes a memory.” – Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss is one of my favourite childhood authors, among many others I might add. I love a lot of his quotes because, in his weird and fantastical way, he truly understood childhood and all that goes with it.

One such thing is childhood memories. Things that stick with us so strongly and stubbornly that we, as adults, make decisions bound and informed by them without us ever really realizing it.

One such moment for me was when were visiting our first home with my parents, while it was about half way through construction . My dad commented that the outside looked an awful lot like their first home together, on the family farm in Cunderdin many moons ago. Of course, once he pointed it out it hit me just how similar our choices were.

This time around (as I think I’ve mentioned before) our new house plan bears a striking resemblance to my parent’s current home. Not an identical match, but just similar enough for me to notice.

These homes, plus the one on our first Toodyay farm, form the basis for most of my really prominent childhood memories, with some stronger than others. There’s the big stuff of course, like Christmas mornings and birthday parties, bringing new pets home and moving house. But then there’s the little stuff.

These are the small moments that don’t seem particularly poignant at the time, but when you look back on your life they can end up making a rather big impact. Or at least they can help you form the vision you have for your life.

Memories of swimming in dams on scorching hot summer days with yabbies brushing against your feet. Of driving around paddocks in the back of the ute, scooping up lost lambs to be reunited with their mummy’s (of course my sister and I named every single one of them!). Of riding motorbikes and playing in mud pits or trying to make a better ant trap. Of learning to shoot and spending so many hours knocking honky nuts out of trees or tin cans off of fences.

A Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Thirteen

So it’s lucky week 13! I know some people say the number 13 is bad luck, but for me it’s always been lucky. That and the numbers 3 and 7. Don’t ask me why I picked those numbers but ever since I was about 10 years old they’ve been my go to numbers and they’ve done me well over the years.

The purported history behind the unluckiness of that particular number and day (Friday 13th) is actually fairly interesting. There’s a few reasons why people believe the number became to be thought of as unlucky and they all have to do with tardy dinner guests. (I mean, that’s naturally where my mind goes!). Apparently Judas Iscariot was the 13th dinner guest to arrive at the Last Supper, he also happened to be the apostle that betrayed Jesus Christ. The same rings true in Norse mythology with Loki the God of Mischief (I’m guessing he was just running a little late, you know) also showed up as the 13th guest to a dinner held in Valhalla.

It’s also believed that King Philip IV of France ordered the Knights Templar to be arrested, tortured and killed on Friday October 13th, 1307. Now naturally none of these have been confirmed as being true but western civilization has taken this fear of the number 13 to such an extent that a lot of hotels, hospitals and office buildings don’t even have a “thirteenth floor”. And don’t even get me started on the number of restaurants that don’t allow you to book a table for 13 guests.

However you choose to look at it, the number thirteen has always been lucky for me so it’s a damn shame that nothing particularly auspicious has happened this week. It’s probably even worse that nothing has really happened with the build either. Well OK, stuff has happened, it’s just not happening fast enough for me. (Hmmm I think the Leo in me is starting to rear it’s head again!)

I did learn something this week though. That, shock horror, the building world apparently doesn’t move as fast as the Channel 9 hit, The Block does! I mean good gawd! Reality TV isn’t actually real? Since when!!

A Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Twelve

Part twelve, can you believe it? Twelve weeks have both simultaneously seem to move fast and slow. I don’t know whether to say “Thank god it’s nearly over!” or “Wow how quick was that!”…. Admittedly some days it’s a bit of both.

Today though is a bit of a meh day. Honestly not a lot has happened this week, it’s our first decent set back in the actual construction phase of the house. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of things have still happened, I think the builder would most definitely argue that point. But I was waiting for the tilers to start and smash out all the tiling in the bathrooms, laundry and kitchen.

Sadly though they have not come out and won’t be out now until next week. Which also sadly means, since the house is at lock-up stage, I can’t get in to take any photos! From what I’ve seen (from spying through the windows that is hehe) is that all the skirting boards, arks and cornersing are in. All the internal doors have been hung and all of the shelves in the walk-in pantry and linen cupboard have also bee installed. So you know, still a big job! So good for you builders!

This lack of much happening has now given us a chance to start getting quotes on things like painting and decking and has really let us start looking at the property as a whole as well.

OK so it’s not our property in the pic. But I think it sums up country life perfectly….. you know with Hay fever! lol

Let’s not forget that the point to this whole thing was about us (and especially our children) leading a ‘country farm life’ and if I’m quite honest with myself I think I may have gotten a little side tracked by the fun of building again, especially when it’s the dream home that I keep harping on about.

When all is said and done, and the builders have packed up and left and we have moved in to freshly lain carpets and wood floors and newly painted walls, we’ll still have lots to do…… like DECORATING!!! No, no, wait. I mean it’s all about OUTSIDE! Yes hubby is nodding his head now.

Riiiiight. Because when it comes right back to it, this whole endeavour was to provide a farm life for ourselves where we can be as self-sufficient as possible. So thanks to this lull in happenings we’ve really been able to nut out the exterior of the home and all the fabulous country things we’re looking forward to having again. You know, like water.

Not just any water people. Not this fluoridated c**p you city folks are drinking. I’m talking about good, honest rain water. Water with real flavour!… (Wait that doesn’t sound right…) Rain water though is something I have always missed so I am truly looking forward to getting off scheme and back into the tank stuff.

The other really big thing I’m looking forward to is planting out our vegetable garden. As you may already know, we had a couple of small raised veg beds in our home in Perth and it was fantastic. Being able to walk, barefoot out into the yard on a balmy summer’s evening to pick perfectly ripened cherry tomatoes (that actually taste like tomatoes!) for your salad that night. Mmm! That’s what I’m talking about.

Fresh fruit straight from the trees, especially figs! Taking Mister L out in his gumboots to feed the chickens and collect fresh eggs for our breakfast. Spending days tending to the ever growing patch of vegetables as a family. Those are the things that make this whole endeavour worth while.

So today I thought I would share a quick (rather rudimentary) sketch the hubby drew up so that we could really wrap our heads around what was going where. I thought you all might like to see it.

Black rectangle is the house. Brown track is the driveway. Big open space to the right is another paddock with the orchard in the front. What has changed now is the veggie beds and chicken coop (small grey rectangles at the bottom here) have been moved up and to the front of the big empty paddock.

Well that’s it from me today folks. Fingers crossed we get back on track next week (I have no doubt we will) and I can organize to get in and get some more pics! I can’t wait to see the tiling finished, especially because then there isn’t much left to do!

Looking forward to showing you around a completed house soon.
Ciao for now xxx

P>S. I have a little something I’ve clipped together for you all, so swing by my Facebook page tonight at 7pm WST and check it out!! 

 

A Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Eleven

Every week I look forward to telling you about what’s happening in our home. About where we are up to and what new things have been built or installed. Every damn week I get so excited about our new life and what will happen once we’re living there.

I also know that every week I come on here and tell you all about how much each stage of the build means to me and about the special meaning I find in each new thing. I suppose I am quite sentimental in that way… something I didn’t think I did much, but yeah, yeah, turns out I am.

This week though is even more special, and not in some heart tugging, cue the violins kind of way. This week is pure goddamn excitement… like jump up and down in one spot, clapping and squealing excitement. Something some of you would remember me doing all too well on the days that I smashed budget at work (now that’s what I call a high!!). This time though it wasn’t over anything quite as exciting or relate-able.

Four words people. Four little words that would either induce similar excitement or eye rolls and groans from you.

I. HAVE. A. KITCHEN!

I honest to god have a  kitchen installed (mostly) and it is one of the biggest things I’ve been looking forward to.

Yeah yeah, I can hear your eyes rolling from here, so stop it!

A Dream Home Coming to Life: Part Ten

“For some people, life is the process of knocking through walls to get out.

For others, it is the building of walls”. – Simon Van Booy

So many steps had to happen to bring us to this point in our build. Some big, some little. Concrete pad going down, walls going up, cladding on, plumbing in, deliveries…. on and on I could go. Some how it is the construction of these walls that has made me truly feel like this house is becoming a home.

Not only that but it saddens me a little too, it means the building of our home is drawing to a close and thus that chapter of our lives. I suppose one could argue the fact that chapters begin and finish constantly in our lives and even the ‘building of our home’ could be interpreted in a different fashion.

Really the construction of our home will never be finished. It is each day started, each day finished, each day lived that will ‘build’ our home. It will grow again with the (hopeful) addition of more people (you can read about THAT topic here!). It will continue to grow with our memories and the actions we take each and every day.

It will adapt. It will change. Just like we as people will. Just like our family will and thus our home will never be truly finished. It’s a nice thought really.

I mean when does a house stop being a home?

Is it when you leave? Is it when you sell it and move onto another one? Or does it never actually stop being a home, specifically your home. Perhaps we carry a little piece of these places around with us. I know I do, to an extent.

My very first home, on my parents first farm in Cunderdin is quite literally etched into my memories. So much so that I think it subconsciously affected my choices with the first home we built. It wasn’t until my dad came to visit the site one day and pointed it out that I realized. That first home we (my husband and I) built near Rockingham all those years ago had a striking resemblance to that very first home in Cunderdin. Funny huh.

Well geez why stop there? If you look at the floor plan to this home we’re building now and the floor plan of the house my parents currently live in, I think you’ll find quite a few similarities. Interesting again that I consider these two places to be the homes of my childhood… we have lived in many other places you see, including our farm here in Toodyay.

So why don’t I consider that one as much of a home? Is it because we only lived there a few short years? Or is it something else? Something… more.

Any way we look at it. A home is more than four walls and a door. And for some of us our life has been about building those walls.

Now onto this week’s update.

I swear I say it every week… but it looks like a real home now!

Master Bedroom through to the en suite on the left and theater room on the right. 

Still… that view! 

It’s not a house update without a pic of my little dude. I swear he’s going to grow up to be a builder!

One of the front views… since I go on and on about the back view so much. Pretty much everywhere you look there’s a great view…. one of the many joys of living in the country huh!

OK so nothing has actually changed outside (except for a new skip bin) but it’s just so good to look at!

Well that brings us to the end of another week and another house update. I have some great news too! The tiling starts next week…. yay! and we are off to buy an oven now as the builders have requested it. Gosh, just the thought of my kitchen going in is making me giddy!

Stay tuned for all the action folks! Ciao for now xxx